


Think About It

by Origami_Roses



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Flash is a bully, Gen, Happy is a Good Bro, So's his dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25385170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Origami_Roses/pseuds/Origami_Roses
Summary: Just a few home truths someone needs to say.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Happy Hogan, Peter Parker & Tony Stark (mentioned)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 182





	1. Think About It

It had been a bad day... he just wanted to get that out there. It. Had. Been. A. Bad. Day. Heck, it had been a bad week. And now he was sitting in the office with Flash and Mr. Thompson, listening to them tell Ms. Cox that he was a terrible person for standing up to the bully. And he didn't even have any back up - Aunt May was at the hospital and Mr. Stark was out of town and _no one was there for him._ So. To repeat: It had been a bad day.

A knock on the office door brought his attention from where it had been focused on his knees. It was probably just the secretary delivering a memo or something, but it was a _distraction_ and he needed one.

Well... he was right about the distraction. "Hey, Mr. Happy." 

"Hey, kid. Got told to come. You ok?" he asked gruffly. 

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Ms. Cox asked. "We'd tried to contact Peter's guardian to come discuss the situation with us, but were not able to get through." 

"Happy Hogan, Head of Security at Stark Industries." 

"Ooh! Puny Parker's in trouble! Looks like they got wind of all your lies, wimp, and finally decided to nab you for it." Flash interrupted with a sadistic grin. 

"Are you really that dumb?" Happy asked, glancing briefly at the other teen before turning his attention back to Ms. Cox. "I thought Midtown was a top tier school. Aren't all your students supposed to be at least moderately intelligent?  
"Anyway, May Parker is assisting in surgery today and cannot be disturbed. Mr. Stark is currently en route to Japan and sent me as his representative. So, what's the story?" He moved to take the seat next to Peter, who relaxed slightly. 

"We have reports of Peter attacking Flash, and since bullying is frowned upon here, we, of course, have to address the issue." Ms. Cox replied. 

Happy looked over at the two other people in the room. "Ya-huh. One cocky, belligerent kid without a scratch on him who was awfully quick to spew insults and accusations, and the other has a bruise on his cheek and is curled into a corner as far away from him as possible... and you're saying the cocky one is getting picked on. I'm no psychologist, but I'd be happy to arrange for one to come in here and explain a few things to you." 

Ms. Cox was uncomfortable with how closely the man's words fit her own thoughts. "I realize that, Mr. Hogan, but the report we were given clearly stated that Peter was the attacker. We have procedures we must follow in dealing with this." 

"And what was ...Flash. was it?... doing to provoke the alleged attack? I've known Peter for a couple years, now, and unless he's three days tired, you have to deliberately push his buttons pretty hard to get more than snark out of him. So. What was the provocation?" Happy asked in his usual deadpan. 

"Are you insinuating my son would be picking a fight with that little nothing?" 

"Not insinuating nothing. Flat out telling you that's the only way Peter would get in a fight at all." 

"I have heard nothing about Flash behaving in a way that would cause Peter to lash out like that, Mr. Hogan." 

"Uh, huh. And have you _asked_ for Peter's side of the story?" Happy leaned slightly toward Peter, keeping an eye on the rest of the room. "You want to tell us what happened, kid? What wasn't reported by whoever is trying to get you in trouble?" 

Peter shuffled uncomfortably in his chair. "Yesterday Flash pushed some Freshman into the wall. The kid's on crutches and couldn't get out of the way and then Flash and his buddies just laughed and kicked his books down the hall when he had trouble getting back up. Today he was going after the same kid, and the kid just looked so scared and sad, and I got in front of Flash to distract him a bit. He started in on the usual name calling and stuff, and then he got all up in my face insulting my parents and Uncle Ben and saying they were relieved to die so they wouldn't have to deal with me, and when he started saying that about Aunt May, too, ... I kinda lost it." he finished in a whisper, refusing to cry here, in front of them. 

"And what did you do when you lost it, Peter?" Ms. Cox asked, cutting Mr. Thompson off when he began to object to Peter's 'slander'. 

"I pushed him in the chest so he'd take a step back and get out of my face and I could leave." 

"And the bruise on your face?" 

"He tripped me and I hit the wall, then one of his buddies slapped my face into the wall again as I passed. I'm pretty sure one of them gave you the report." 

"So..." Happy interjected before anyone else could get started. "Bullying is frowned upon here. You going to get on that one's case about his actions, too? And his friends? It sounds like this nameless Freshman was getting far worse than being rocked back a step to provide an exit strategy. Or am I seeing 'spoiled rich brat whose daddy buys him out of trouble'?" 

"While it is true that Midtown has benefited from Mr. Thompson's generosity in the past, I can assure you that is not the case." Ms. Cox cut off Mr. Thompson again. Happy couldn't help but notice the small, smug smile on the man's face at that. 

"You will investigate the incident, though, won't you? I'm know for a fact you have security feeds, here. Make use of them. Pete could tell you which hallway and what period it happened in and save you a lot of time looking through footage." 

Peter ducked his face when every eye turned to him. "Second floor, Hall C about halfway down, between 3rd and 4th periods. Um, Yesterday was in front of the first floor Chem labs after 6th period." he whispered. He hated being the center of attention when he had to pretend to be 'just Peter Parker'. It was so much harder to deal with scrutiny without his mask on. 

"There ya go. See how quickly things can be worked out if you just bother asking questions and listening to the answers? Now I have a couple questions of my own. How many of your students here are on scholarships through the September Foundation or Maria Stark Foundation?" 

The sudden change of topic threw her off a bit. "I fail to see how that's any business of yours." 

"Fair enough. I don't need the actual numbers. I know several of your staff have grants through and at least one of your labs is fully funded by the Stark Industries Technological Outreach Program. All three of those - September Foundation, Maria Stark Foundation, Stark Industries - lead back to one man: Tony Stark. Tony Stark is Peter's mentor. Tony Stark is also one of Peter's emergency contacts. Just in case you're lying either to me or to yourself about how much daddy's checkbook influences your disciplinary policies, I'd suggest you take a few minutes to think about how much you _do not want to piss off_ Tony Stark. He won't try to buy justice, but if he finds out you're selling it to someone else ...? Well." Seeing the Assistant Principal and ... other parties... temporarily speechless, Happy stood up. "And Flash? I'd suggest you make some changes in your life before your mouth writes a check daddy can't cash. Just some friendly advice. Good talk." He opened the door, done with the whole farce. "Go get your stuff, kid. We're taking you to Tower Medbay to get you checked over. Boss'd kill me if getting your head knocked around damaged that brain of yours." 

Peter scrambled out of his chair to freedom (and probably ice cream!) as Happy continued. "Peter will be back tomorrow for his regular classes. I will be picking him up at the regular dismissal time. After you have fully investigated both this matter and the one Peter just barely reported to you, you may arrange a time to discuss things more fully with his Aunt IF you feel Peter is still the one who needs to face consequences." As the door closed, he looked back over his shoulder. "Oh, we will be filling a restraining order, and we _will_ expect you and all your staff to enforce it."


	2. Talk About It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't thought there would be a second chapter, but Happy got unusually talkative.

Peter breathed in the sweet, sweet air of freedom as he slouched in the front seat of the car.

"Seatbelt." Happy reminded him gruffly, getting behind the wheel and pulling out of the school's visitor lot. "And decide what you'd like to eat since I pulled you out before your lunch period." 

"Can we stop for chicken nuggets?" 

"No. Medbay first. Lunch after. We can get you chicken, though. And some veggies other than french fries. Unless the doc says otherwise." Yeah... they both knew that was not too likely. If anything, the doc would tell him to eat more - again. They seemed to think that because Peter was a teen he was constantly on the brink of starving to death. ...and, ok, he did burn a lot of calories as Spiderman, but still. He was fine. Always. 

"So," Happy interrupted his internal monologue on dietary requirements, "why haven't you said anything about the bullying problem before this?" 

"I... wha? ...it's... not a problem, Mr. Happy." 

"Ya-huh, sure, kid. I quote 'He started in on the usual name calling and stuff'. That's bullying, Pete. Even if today is the first time he got physical - which I doubt - that's still bullying and we'd like to at least know about it." 

"It's not a big deal, Mr. Happy. I can handle it." 

"I'm not saying you can't, but you should still report it." 

Peter was silent for a long moment. "C'mon, kid. I can't read your mind. Share what you're thinking." 

"It's not like it helps. You saw today - it's always like that. Reporting doesn't do any good." 

"So the whole thing about 'bullying isn't tolerated' is false, or the program just lacks visible effects?" 

"Well, no. I mean, just mostly with Flash. He never changes. But at least if he's ripping on me, he's not hurting someone else, ya know. I'm strong. I can handle it." 

"Kid, you literally _just barely_ told that administrator that Flash had pushed a kid on crutches to the floor, kicked his books around, and laughed. So he _is_ hurting other people despite picking on you. Reporting gets people at least looking at the bully. Protecting people isn't just about putting yourself in front of the threat and taking the hits. It's about making other people aware of the threat so they can step in and help." 

"But Mr. Stark alwa-" 

"Tony is a great guy, and I know you look up to him a lot, but Iron Man isn't the only way he protects people. The media loves to show him flying around, getting shot at in his fancy suit, but he does a lot of less flashy things, too. He has lawyers and PR people constantly helping with things besides SI patents and products.  
"The scholarships I mentioned? Midtown's not the only good school around, Pete. A lot of scholarships don't go to Midtown. There are at least a half dozen early vocational programs, boarding schools, and educational enhancement programs that get Foundation assistance, too. I think there's even a pre-school math and reading program out there somewhere. That's Tony protecting people by giving them a chance to make their lives better - well over 70% of them are targeted to low income areas and single parent families. It gives kids a better chance than they would have otherwise to avoid being stuck as poor single teen mothers, drug runners, in prison, or dead in a gutter from a gang fight. Beyond just education, SI has one of the most progressive hiring policies, and a zero-tolerance policy on harassment. Character endorsements from the educational programs carry a bit of weight with HR. Meaning the kids who qualify for and make good use of those programs have a good shot at a decent job with a safe environment.  
"All of that is Tony getting other people involved in solving problems. He's not actively involved in 99.99% of the issues that come up - he's set things up so that people can _report_ problems, and people with authority to do so can find ways to _fix_ those problems. You want to be a better protector? Communicate. Get a team involved. You operate on a small enough scale as Spiderman that it doesn't usually apply to you, so maybe you haven't noticed, but why do you think the Avengers liase with local law enforcement? Evacuations don't just magically happen.  
"So I'm telling you, Pete, report the bullying. At least to me or Tony if you're so sure the school won't do anything about it. If you want to just brush off stupid insults, go ahead, though we'd still like to know about them. But that Flash kid... it sounds like he goes way beyond just petty words. and has been for a while. And he encourages others to join him. You want to protect people? Start reporting stuff - just like today. Especially with anything physical. Give a date, time and location and remind the adults in the room that they have the means to verify your report. Once they see that you're not lying, not exaggerating, and not taking that shit anymore, they'll start listening to you. And if they don't, they'll listen to SI's lawyers. I know Spiderman is basically a solo gig right now, but Peter Parker doesn't have to be. There's too many kids at your school for you to personally stand between each of them and every bully. So start using different methods of protecting them.  
"You're a smart kid, Pete. Start using that brain of yours outside the lab." 

The rest of the ride was quiet, and many deep thoughts were had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 8/15/'20 - fixed a couple typos and noticed that somehow the chapter count was at 3... (apologies to anyone waiting for the supposed third chapter - I do not currently have one planned.)


End file.
